Happy St. Patrick's Day From All Of us Here at FRIENDS OF LIBERTY : Be safe Don't Drink and Drive
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St. Patrick's Day isn't just about parades, shamrocks, drinking beer and wearing green. Today's St. Patrick's Day celebrations are deeply rooted in the real man behind the Irish holiday, who actually wasn't Irish at all. Here are 10 fun, surprising facts about St. Patrick and the March 17 holiday.
1. St. Patrick wasn’t named Patrick. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, but Ireland’s patron saint changed his name to Patricius after becoming a priest, according to Mental Floss.
2. St. Patrick wasn’t Irish. He may be known as the Apostle of Ireland, but St. Patrick was actually born in Britain around 385 A.D. and his parents were Roman citizens. It wasn’t until about 16 years later that he went to Ireland, but not by choice, according to Bio of A&E Television Networks.
3. St. Patrick was a slave. At age 16, St. Patrick was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he tended sheep for 10 years. He ran away to England at age 22 and took refuge in a monastery in Gaul for 12 years, where he studied for the priesthood and was ordained a bishop. St. Patrick later took his teachings back to Ireland for 30 years, where he was determined to convert the country to Christianity, according to Bio.
4. St. Patrick’s color is not green. We should really drink blue beer rather than green on March 17, because blue was the color originally associated with St. Patrick. Artwork often depicts Ireland’s patron saint wearing blue garments. Blue was used to represent Ireland on flags, coats of arms and sports jerseys.
That all changed in the 17th century. Green is one of the colors in Ireland’s tri-color flag and Ireland was dubbed the Emerald Isle for its lush green landscape, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
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